By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A Marine veteran viewed St. Joseph from the Missouri River as she paddled the 3,300 miles from the headwaters of the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico.
Amanda Hoenes of Branson wrote about the adventure in her book: Digging Deeper: USMC Veteran Solo Paddles the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Hoenes says the trip took her by St. Joseph as the trees began to turn colors.
“Just the beauty was such a surprise and St. Joe in particular,” Hoenes tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “It started to get into fall right about that time. So, the weather was cooling and then you wake up to those morning sunrises with mist over the river.”
Hoenes says she learned a lot about endurance as well as overcoming obstacles during the 175 days on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Her trek took 185 days total, but she paused for 10 days to watch her beloved Kansas City Chiefs play against the Green Bay Packers.
Hoenes launched from Three Forks, Montana July 11th of 2021 in her family’s 17’ red Coleman canoe, which she describes as a tank. A love for adventure books as a youth fuel her wanderlust. Getting laid off from corporate America gave the push needed to take on her bucket list challenge.
Hoenes underwent eight months of research and planning, but that failed to prepare her for the taxing journey. Though she had packages of dehydrated and freeze-dried food delivered to strategic stops along the way, Hoenes soon found out this canoe trip took a bigger toll on her physically than anticipated, especially when she encountered hard winds on the six reservoirs upstream on the Missouri River. Hoenes says she lost 23 pounds, forcing her to stock up on peanut butter, granola, and other supplemental nourishment.
Hoenes says the only time she considered quitting was during those long, rough days on the reservoirs, especially the Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana that took 10 days to cross. Once she cleared the reservoirs and hit the flow of the Missouri River again south of Yankton, South Dakota, Hoenes settled into a more predictable journey taking her passed Omaha and by St. Joseph.
Hoenes says she took in the view of St. Joseph from the Missouri River, observing the beauty, lost in the isolation along the way.
“Just very remote along the river,” according to Hoenes. “You can be going through a full city and still feel like you’re in wilderness as you paddle through it. That was one of the coolest experiences for me.”
This trip of endurance and other experiences come together in the lessons Hoenes attempts to teach youth who attend her True Path Adventures camp in southern Missouri, where she says young people learn life skills not often taught in their high-tech world.
“Like communication, critical thinking, situational awareness, resourcefulness and I know catching youth early and really just opening their eyes to the risk of getting lost in the world of technology and opening their eyes to what’s possible around it and outside of that.”
True Path Adventures features seven miles of trails on the family ranch near Bull Shoals Lake.
Hoenes says she learned a lot about herself during her canoe trip with her trusty dog on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, but also learned how many good people are ready and willing to help someone on a daring adventure.
You can follow Brent @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.